I created a windows form using C# in Visual Studio.
The form looks great all buttons, labels, tabPages…etc. all work just fine. The one issue the I have is the output folder located at “C:\Winform\bin\debug\net8.0-windows” has files that I do not need the end user to see them all except for the .exe file. Files that I don’t need the user to see are .pdb and .dll and .json . How can I hide those files?

I created a windows form using C# in Visual Studio.
The form looks great all buttons, labels, tabPages…etc. all work just fine. The one issue the I have is the output folder located at “C:\Winform\bin\debug\net8.0-windows” has files that I do not need the end user to see them all except for the .exe file. Files that I don’t need the user to see are .pdb and .dll and .json . How can I hide those files?

• c#
• visual-studio
• windows-forms-designer

Share Improve this question Follow edited Nov 20, 2024 at 16:25 Joel Coehoorn 416k114114 gold badges578578 silver badges813813 bronze badges asked Nov 20, 2024 at 16:02 SammieSammie 1111 bronze badge 8

• 2 What is the purpose of hiding them? Why do you expect the user to be looking in your application's program directory (instead of any corresponding data directory)? (It's unclear what this has to do with the Windows Forms Designer, too... a .NET application typically does have .pdb, .dll and .json files regardless of whether it's Windows Forms or not, and regardless of what you do in the designer.) – Jon Skeet Commented Nov 20, 2024 at 16:06
• @JonSkeet thanks for the quick response! All the users need to see/access is the .exe file. The end users do not need/see .json or .pdb or .dll I know another designer who managed to do that. He only allowed the .exe to be visible but unfortunately he refused to share his work or at least give a hint as how he did it – Sammie Commented Nov 20, 2024 at 16:18
• 1 You would typically create a Desktop link and/or an entry in the Start menu Programs folder and also pin the application in the Taskbar and the users would never see the installation folder. – Olivier Jacot-Descombes Commented Nov 20, 2024 at 16:22
• 1 Sounds like you need to write an installer. End users shouldn't be running the application from a debug / release folder. – Ryan Thomas Commented Nov 20, 2024 at 16:27
• 1 Yes, the pdb file is not needed, but you almost certainly DO need the dll and json files. The exe file relies on those to run properly. As for not seeing the rest: the program is installed to a folder, but then a shortcut to the exe is placed on the Desktop or start menu, and thats all the user needs to see. – Joel Coehoorn Commented Nov 20, 2024 at 16:27

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2 Answers 2

Sorted by: Reset to default 3

How can I hide those files?

You build an installer or deployment project that will place these files, along with the exe file, in a folder within the Program Files folder. Some more-recent installer tools may also deploy to a specific user's App Data folder.

The installer will typically bundle everything in an msi file, that may in turn be bundled into a separate exe (that is really a self-extracting zip file) which will then extract and run the msi. You also use this installer project to ensure the appropriate version of .NET is available on the machine.

The installer can then place a shortcut for your program on any of the Desktop, Start Menu, or Taskbar, and the user will then only really see or interact with the shortcut. This is how programs have worked since the 90's.

For example, Google Chrome installs by default to %AppData%\Google\Chrome and places a ton of files in there, but all you ever see or interact with are the shortcuts on the Desktop, Start Menu, or Taskbar.

If a user goes looking in the installation folder, they will be able to see these other files. But remember: it's their computer. You will never be able to completely hide files from the owner of machine, nor should you try.

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The other consideration here is standard-privilege users do not have write access to the program's folder within Program Files by default, and so you shouldn't use the program's own folder to store data and other state. Make sure you're keeping this information in the App Data folder reserved for this purpose.

After following @sir Rufo suggestion by using "dotnet publish" for single file deployment, I started a comprehensive search and came across the solution below. I tried it and it worked perfectly!!! :)

-In the solution explorer of your project, you need to edit the ".csproj" file by adding the following

true true none win-x64 true

-Once that is added, you need to run "dotnet publish -c Release -o publish" -Rebuild the project, then you will notice a folder called "publish" in your project directory

*Thank you all so very much for trying to help, I'm glad I have folks like you in my life. I hope the solution above can benefit others!